MUSIC . . . THE TROUBLE WITH THE TRUTH

MUSIC . . . THE TROUBLE WITH THE TRUTH: "Misery loves country," says TIME's Richard Corliss. But even in a musical genre that tries to put a pang in every twang, Patty Loveless stands out. "Loveless has a purity, a disdain for emotional compromise, that sets her above the standard ingratiators." Patty sings the truth and serves it up raw. So it makes sense that her gorgeous, pulverizing new CD is called 'The Trouble with the Truth.' And what is the trouble? As the title song, by Gary Nicholson, tells us: 'It has ruined the taste of the sweetest lies,/ Burned through my best alibis.' "The way Loveless sings it, the truth ain't pretty, but it sounds as golden as the Gospel." says Corliss. "Producer Emory Gordy Jr. (her current husband) wraps Loveless around 10 prime laments that express the aftershock of betrayal, in musical settings that range from up-tempo to hillbilly solemn."